AMX, Crestron, RTI etx. have decided to not distribute their software. That is their decision, if they made the software available doesn't mean I'd stop selling their products. There are plenty of dealers that sell Pronto and they don;t complain about the software being available. One of the reasons companies like this is word of mouth about their products and bad news travels faster than good.
Picture the average consumer with a cheap under $30 universal remote that has macro capability. Most put in the codes for their devices but rarely use the punch throughs and even fewer use the macro capability. For most it turns into just another remote sitting on their table and was a waste of money but for $20 they are not complaining much.
Certainly, there are consumers that can program these systems. But give these systems to a 100 people and probably 1 could program it well, a half dozen or so could probably have something functional and the rest would be bad mouthing how difficult it is and recommend to their friends not to buy. At this price point they would be writing bad reports on every consumer ratings site that exists and telling other people it is a useless, overpriced piece of junk.
Do you think any of these companies want to build this type of reputation?
Being a consumer with the capabilty to do much of this yourself you fall into that very small percentage and you of course do not agree with their policy. If AMX, Crestron, RTI, etc. thought you were their target market and everyone had the capability you do they might have a different policy. But in the masses most people can't set the clock on a VCR nevermind program a remote:-)
